Instant exercise upgrades

Remember how your English teacher told you to dot your i’s and cross your t’s? Or your high school coach always telling you to move your feet? Sure you do, it wasn’t that long ago, right?

These are called one per centers. One per centers can make a big difference to your result. The same goes for when you exercise. A few tweaks can have a big payoff.

Here are a few exercise upgrades that you can use right away in your own training. I’m all about making it easier. Trust me, I’m a trainer.

1. When bench pressing or doing push-ups, bring your shoulder blades together as you lower the bar towards you or your body towards the floor. This provides a stable base to press up from.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfCXehLp8qM&w=560&h=315]

2. When you’re exercising with your hands on the floor, push them into the ground and then spread your fingers apart. This creates more tension in your shoulders, triceps and it’s also easier on your wrists.

3. When squatting, or deadlifting turn your right foot clockwise and your left foot anti-clockwise, while keeping your feet flat on the ground. This creates tension in your outer hips to prevent your knees collapsing inward.

As an added bonus, you get a better looking behind.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1H1VG9Uh50&w=560&h=315]

4. When the front plank is not doing it for you anymore, try the RKC Front plank. This turns a core exercise into a total body challenge. Creating more tension while you exercise will only make you stronger.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TKktamzq4o&w=560&h=315]

5. Wrap a towel around a dumbbell/barbell while lifting. This increases your grip strength as it demands more work from your wrists and forearms. Doesn’t everybody want their forearms to look like Popeye’s?

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8O0PwGSoO0&w=560&h=315]

6. Do all your upper body lifts (dumbbell, barbells or machine) with one hand. This will help iron out strength imbalances between your left and right sides. In addition, you’ll get an unexpected core workout.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQr68Vd7kbE&w=560&h=315]

Your English teacher was right for a change. One per cent does make ALL the difference.